a review...and a forecast...

I've been tagged on the 4 things meme by two very talented bloggers Katy and Jen
check out their blogs if you haven't already done so, they are great (you may even notice a replica Ms Bester on Katy's entry of today...now there is this little girl called Ms Bester who lives with me and she has a third birthday coming up soon...)

I was intrigued as to what meme actually means, initially thinking it was simply a meme...ie all about me...by me (they are fairly self-reflective normally it has to be said) however I have been put right and it is all far more interesting than that...check this out if you too are intrigued beyond what is normal by this whole meme lark (thanks Apryl)

anyway, grab yourselves a cuppa and settle in for some looking inwards...


(nice excuse to show you one of my latest thrifting finds...I tell you I've gone berserk on the vintage china of late. So much so we are running out of room to store it (well, not quite yet) but I tell you it's just delightful to drink tea from these dainties...brightens up many a dull morn round milkwood way...may do a post on all my vintage beauties one of these days, or maybe I'll just have to invite you all around to take tea...I have about enough cups now I think...and Apryl can bring baked goodies, my excuse being that my oven is still broken - the reality being that the woman makes damn fine cake)

so, to the meme

4 Jobs I have had::
bookmaker (as in the betting kind) - I was the one who took the money and wrote the results up on the board (in the days before t'internet and technology took over all that and bookies became flash) in London's famous Petticoat Lane - how I loved wandering around there...hated the job though
gin bottle quality checker - I was the one who checked the bottles of gin to make sure there was no gunk in the booze...sounds more glamorous than it was (am not sure that's possible actually) there was much standing around in front of a lightbox and conveyor belt for 8 hours a day...I was young and I needed money, that's all I will say
teacher - english as a foreign language, computer programming, art...take your pick I've done 'em all...still doing the art teaching (my artclub) and I must say I LOVE that job
computer programmer - in the late 80s/early 90s - imagine a huge mainframe computer with tiny black terminals if you will..then imagine yours truly with a permanent hangover (it was my first time away from home and I fell in with a lively crowd - what more can I say) - it wasn't a good combination - I kept knocking the on-off switch with my toe by accident and the whole caboodle would power off and 40 or so programmers would wonder what had happened...I would take the opportunity to make some tea, obviously

4 favorite movies ::
jules et jim (or anything with Jeanne Moreau in)
breakfast at tiffany's (or anything with Audrey Hepburn)
million dollar mermaid (or anything with Esther Williams)
lights in the dusk (or anything by Aki Kaurismaki)

4 places i’ve been ::
Sydney
New York
Scotland
Italy (8 weeks after Ms Reva was born we went to Florence...8 weeks after Ms Bester arrived we went to Venice...I think I need another baby!)

4 places i’ve lived ::
Cork
Dublin
London
New York (state, one summer, with a broken heart...awwwwh)

4 favorite tv shows ::
damages
madman
ugly betty
the late late show in the 70s and 80s (only Irish people will understand this)

4 favorite radio programs ::
I am a radio 4 fan - front row, woman's hour which I get to listen to approx once a year!), used to love the saturday morning family show with John Peel before he departed this world too early and RFN independent voices (of course!)

4 favorite foods ::
king prawns
peas
parmesan
prosecco
(and tea, which doesn't really count as an extra as it is a staple...like water)

4 places i’d rather be ::
hmm, quite like where I am right now (though it is a bit messy, truth be told) but if I had to you could probably persuade me to :
a Greek island or San Francisco or Amsterdam or Rome or or or

I think I am supposed to choose 4 people to invite to join in this so I invite Jo, Asti, Penny and Chloe ...but only if they don't feel that this meme is one which "may prove detrimental to [its] hosts" !

now, to the future...I am currently forecasting...and the future is grey (Rowan Pure Wool Aran)



unfortunately I found myself in Suffolk without a cable needle but with an inviting inglenook which created an overwhelming urge to knit...so I used one of the kids pencils instead...must admit those cables are a smidgen looser than they could have been had yours truly even an ounce of patience and self restraint...

and finally (as if I haven't already ricocheted between enough diverse topics in one post) some earrings I mustered from an old necklace I had lying around...I rather like them...now, if only I could wear earrings...

gosh, that may well have been my longest ever post...I'd be amazed if anyone were still here...

FO and thrift...

so, a little FO (finished object of course) to share...from knitting patterns from the domestic sphere - an asymmetrical bulky cardigan and sideways shortrow hat. I stumbled across these on ravelry while looking for something sweet to knit for my friend Maaya's new baby. I've never done this shortrows technique before, once you get used to it it's great. Give it a go. Yes, I know I have already decided to do a quilt...haven't you worked out yet that I rarely stick directly to planA? the quilt will get done too I hope...although baby arrived 3 days early instead of the expected week late so I am under just a bit of pressure now...
I obviously don't have enough babies in my life to say I am crafting 3 goodies for this little one (most of my friends have moved on from baby stage now) ...but hopefully there will be one more very special baby being announced soon..NOT mine I hasten to add, but someone very dear to me is waiting and seeing right now...send her all your positive vibes for some good news later this month...

digression over...here's the knit...

it reminds me of a little kimono, which is kind of appropriate really as Maaya is Japanese...the yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca organic cotton and it is beautiful, soft, warm, perfect...

Meanwhile Saturday saw a bit of thrifting action (have decided to go with the "thrifting" word, so much nicer and more concise than "rummaging around charity shops" to describe the activity). I had to leave the kids at home and drop my bike in for a service and of course the queues were REALLY long in the bike shop (honest Mr G, stop reading now dear) which enabled a bit of a detour and the scoring of the following delicious old skirts which are just crying out for some cutting and repurposing....(or wearing, I just can't decide!)



I also managed to find these glasses (for 25p each) which will hold a long cool drink just perfectly come Summer (assuming Summer remembers Britain this year)


and finally, the darling smallfry #2 was VERY excited last weekend at going to her first proper party as a properly invited quest who received her very own invitation ...so excited she forgot to show her face as she ran out the door...



smallfry #1 wasn't so impressed by missing all the fun due to the pox but that's quite another story...suffice it to say many compensatory DVDs have been acquired...

PS on the subject of ravelry - if you like yarn crafts and haven't yet signed up I urge you to do so now, it is simply the best resource out there...if you are signed up you'll find me there as overmilkwood...